Culture Wars Claim an Educational Hero: The Tragic Departure of Teacher of the Year Willie Carver (Ep. 5)
Episode Notes
America’s culture wars are driving great teachers out of the classroom, exacerbating a shortage that has reached critical levels in most states. The story of Willie Carver, Kentucky's Teacher of the Year for 2022, is especially tragic. He was honored at the White House along with 49 other outstanding teachers this past spring. He was beloved by his students and colleagues. But Carver was also an openly gay teacher and became weary (and fearful) of the unrelenting hostility toward LGBTQ educators and students at his school.
In this episode, Carver explains the conditions that led to his painful decision to leave Montgomery County High School. Carver said he became a teacher so that every student could believe in their own worth and potential, a mission his students say he successfully achieved and one he still hopes to promote outside of the classroom.
Montgomery County teacher and Kentucky Teacher of the Year, Willie Carver, outside the Gateway Regional Arts Center in downtown Mt. Sterling, Ky., on May 11, 2022. Image by Arden Barnes for Education Week.
ABOUT WILLIE CARVER
Willie Carver, a former high school and dual credit French and English teacher at Montgomery County High School, is the 2022 Kentucky Teacher of the Year. He holds a bachelor’s and a double-endorsed master’s from Morehead State University and earned a Rank 1 with studies in French Linguistics at the University of Georgia. Carver sponsors a Gay-Straight Alliance, among other clubs, and believes that ordinary students can change the world in extraordinary ways.